Kobe Bryant came to the NBA in 1996 and waited over a decade for his first-ever MVP. The Mamba clinched his lone Most Valuable Player title for the 2007-08 campaign. When asked about the prolonged wait years after, he said, “Because I played with Shaq. It’s that simple.” Luckily, there cannot be another Shaquille O’Neal, overshadowing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s season. Currently, in his sixth campaign, Shai’s race to the MVP sites his regulation run better than Kob’s MVP tenure.

Shai is currently averaging 31.2 points per game on over 50% shooting from the field. However, he is more than a scorer. He is stepping on the leadership role while notching 5.6 rebounds, 6.5 assists, and 2.1 steals per game. With that, being one of the frontrunners in the MVP race, Shai is winning the comparisons from Mamba’s 07-08 season.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has better numbers than Kobe’s MVP season

The Oklahoma City Thunder are currently the best team in the Western Conference. However, they have been in a constant back and forth with the Minnesota Timberwolves, who snatched the throne from them earlier this season. Amidst these trials, Shai automatically assumes the leadership mantle for the squad. Furthermore, OKC’s continued dominance and Joel Embiid’s injury sidelining him from the MVP race has alleviated Shai’s name at the #2 spot in the MVP race.

With that, when pitting Shai’s performance head to head against Kobe’s, the young guard surpasses the legend in almost all statistical aspects, except the boards. Kobe averaged 28.3 points on a 45.9% clip from the floor while adding 6.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 1.8 steals. Along with topping those, Shai outshines Kobe in 3-point shooting with 38% to Kobe’s 36% and exhibits a better free throw efficiency, shooting 88% and passing Bryant’s 84%.

Interestingly, after recently reclaiming their top spot, the Thunder will gear up for their next clash against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Shai also has more 30-point games than Kobe

Although Shai is yet to touch the 50-point milestone this season, he has scored 40 points five times this season. All of them came in November and December last year. In that regard, he already matches Kobe Bryant’s 40-point games in his MVP season. Notably, Kobe had two 50-point games in the tenure.

Read More – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Breaks Silence on OKC’s Original Big-3 Comparisons

However, Shai’s scoring advantage over Kobe comes from the number of 30-point games the youngster has lodged this campaign. Kobe touched the 30-point mark 36 times, while Shai has already accumulated 45 such games. That too, with 22 games left on the season.